Abstract

The Zimbabwean construction industry is currently facing an enormous challenge to
provide affordable housing to the urban dwelling low income earners. The urban
population of Zimbabwe rose rapidly from 27% in 1992 to 42% by early 2002, and the
urban housing backlog had risen to over 1,000,000 units by 2005. The use and cost of
established construction materials, such as, cement, steel and brick are beyond the
reach of most Zimbabweans. Thus, there is a pertinent need for a more affordable
alternative. This study investigated the use of contemporary stabilised earth
construction as an alternative solution to address the urban low cost housing crisis in
Zimbabwe. Although experimental stabilised earth construction projects were a great
success in Zimbabwe, this technology has not yet been widely adopted. Factors, such
as benefits, drawbacks, inhibitors and drivers thus play an influencing role in the
adoption of contemporary stabilised earth construction technologies. These factors
must be understood as there are limited appropriate alternatives in Zimbabwe.
A critical appraisal of the literature revealed that there is sparse structured research to
date carried out to identify the factors that affect the widespread use of contemporary
stabilised earth construction. Furthermore, the factors identified in the literature review
lack empirical evidence and well structured research is essential to substantiate
whether the factors are real or mere speculation.
Earth construction is still largely representative of ancient architecture and
unfortunately is still related to poor and primitive construction. Contemporary
stabilised earth construction is still a relatively new technology in Zimbabwe;
therefore, construction professionals will play a pivotal and significant role in the
widespread adoption of this technology. Therefore, this study developed a holistic
understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of stabilised earth by
construction professionals in order to address the low cost housing crisis in Zimbabwe.
The aim of this study resided in the interpretivism philosophy; the factors found in the
literature review are directly and indirectly related to complex social phenomena. A critical review and appraisal of the literature, combined with findings of the Delphi
technique produced a list of generic factors which formed an initial conceptual
framework. A series of in-depth interviews were subsequently conducted with
construction professionals to validate the generic list of factors and refined the
conceptual framework in the context of Zimbabwe.